Cadonilimab (mono anti-PD-1/CTLA-4 therapy) in advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer January 14, 2026 Original source
Neoadjuvant lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab in Merkel cell carcinoma: an investigator-initiated, open-label phase II trial Background <p>Given the success of checkpoint inhibitor therapy in the advanced Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) setting, there is interest in exploring immunotherapy as a neoadjuvant approach. We report the primary results of a neoadjuvant study of lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab in resectable MCC.</p> Methods <p>In this single-center, phase II open-label trial, resectable stage II–IV MCC patients received 6 weeks of neoadjuvant… Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer January 14, 2026 Original source
Trispecific targeting of T cells engineered with TCR mimic antibodies to limit antigen escape Background <p>Antigen loss and tumor heterogeneity present significant challenges for successful immunotherapies. T-cell receptor (TCR)-based therapies rely on the recognition of epitopes derived from intracellular tumor proteins presented by major histocompatibility complex class I molecules on cell surface. Solid tumor cells frequently lack immunoproteasomes, which are crucial for processing and presenting certain immunogenic epitopes. An effective strategy to mitigate the… Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer January 14, 2026 Original source
CD47 destabilization via manipulating the SPOP-USP2 axis augments macrophage phagocytosis and cancer immunotherapy Background <p>Macrophages can eliminate cancer cells through phagocytosis via the CD47/signal regulatory protein α axis, which provides promising targets for cancer immunotherapy as innate immune checkpoints. Although CD47 is overexpressed in multiple cancer types, it remains largely unknown whether and how CD47 can be targeted by manipulating its protein stability.</p> Experimental design <p>Multiple human cancer cell lines were used to… Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer January 14, 2026 Original source
Tumor-associated macrophages educated by IGSF9 exhibit a senescence-associated secretory phenotype to promote tumor immune escape Background <p>IGSF9, immunoglobulin superfamily member 9, has been reported to inhibit T cell proliferation and activation, thereby promoting tumor immune escape. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), the most abundant tumor-infiltrating immune cells, play a crucial role in forming the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. We find that IGSF9 strongly binds to TAMs, however, how it affects TAMs function remains unreported.</p> Methods <p>The spatial transcriptomics… Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer January 14, 2026 Original source
Machine learning reveals country-specific drivers of global cancer outcomes Global inequities in access to cancer diagnostics and treatment contribute to wide variation in cancer mortality-to-incidence ratios (MIRs), a proxy for survival. We aimed to develop an interpretable machine learning framework to quantify country-specific health system contributors to MIR and inform policy prioritization. Annals of Oncology January 14, 2026 Original source
Merkel cell carcinoma immunotherapy: key questions in the era of immune checkpoint blockade <p>Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) exemplifies the paradigm of immunogenic tumors that nonetheless develop sophisticated immune evasion mechanisms. This is in line with the observation that MCC exhibits remarkable susceptibility to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), with responses in approximately half of patients with advanced disease in the first-line setting. However, 40–50% of patients show primary ICI resistance, while 20–30% of patients… Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer January 13, 2026 Original source
Decoding adipocyte heterogeneity through single-nucleus transcriptomics unveils subtype-specific adipocytes orchestrate immunosuppressive niches in breast cancer Background <p>While adipose tissue constitutes a substantial proportion of breast composition, the functional characteristics and pathological relevance of the adipocyte microenvironment in breast carcinogenesis remain undercharacterized. This study employs single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) to establish a comprehensive cellular atlas of adipocyte heterogeneity across molecular subtypes of breast cancer, aiming to elucidate subtype-specific adipocyte contributions to tumor microenvironment modulation.</p> Methods <p>snRNA-seq… Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer January 13, 2026 Original source
Mutant calreticulin enables potent and selective CAR-T cell therapy in preclinical models of myeloproliferative neoplasms Background <p>The adoptive transfer of T cells engineered to express chimeric antigen receptors (CAR-T) has shown high efficacy and safety in treating various hematologic malignancies. However, many hematologic disorders, such as BCR::ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), lack effective treatment options. Some of these neoplasms are marked by a recurrent mutation that results in the expression of mutant calreticulin (mCALR), a neoantigen… Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer January 13, 2026 Original source
Association Between Zinc Deficiency and Risk of Thyroid Cancer: A Multi-Institutional Cohort Study . <br /> Nutrition and Cancer Journal January 13, 2026 Original source
Cell therapy in sarcoma: current landscape and future directions <p>Sarcomas are rare malignancies of mesenchymal origin, characterized by significant biological and clinical heterogeneity. Many subtypes demonstrate limited sensitivity to standard systemic treatments, including immune checkpoint inhibitors. Cell therapy has emerged as a promising strategy, with the potential of durable clinical responses seen with genetically-engineered T-cell receptor T-cell therapies (TCR-T) such as those targeting the cancer-testis antigen MAGE-A4 in synovial… Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer January 13, 2026 Original source
Fully human anti-B7-H4 antibody induces lysosome-dependent ferroptosis to reverse primary resistance to PD-1 blockade Background <p>Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have significantly improved outcomes for patients with certain cancers, their efficacy is largely confined to "hot" tumors characterized by robust infiltration of tumor-specific CD8<sup>+</sup> T cells. Conversely, tumors expressing B7-H4 often exhibit an immunologically "cold" tumor microenvironment with poor T cell infiltration, contributing to primary resistance to programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade.</p>… Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer January 13, 2026 Original source
Extracellular granzyme K enhances PD-L1 transcription and stability via F2RL1 activation to facilitate tumor immune evasion in lung adenocarcinoma Background <p>Granzyme K (GZMK) is a serine protease known for its perforin-dependent cytotoxicity. However, the non-cytotoxic role of GZMK in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains largely elusive.</p> Methods <p>Multiomics datasets were integrated to investigate the clinical relevance of GZMK and its association with programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in LUAD. Recombinant human GZMK (rhGzmK) was applied in tumor-CD8<sup>+</sup> T cell co-culture systems,… Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer January 13, 2026 Original source
Serum cytokines predict response and survival in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma receiving chemoradiotherapy combined with anti-PD-1 antibody: analyses of two phase II clinical trials Purpose <p>Chemoradiotherapy (CRT) combined with anti-PD-1 for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has shown promising efficacy but lack the predictive biomarkers to identify patients who could benefit from this therapy. The predictive value of serum cytokines in ESCC patients remains unclear. We aimed to identify cytokine-based biomarkers for treatment response and survival in this setting.</p> Experimental Design <p>Exploratory… Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer January 13, 2026 Original source
What You Need to Know About Rising Appendix Cancer Rates <p>If you look down at your stomach, glide your eyes diagonally from your belly button to the lower right side of your abdomen: that’s your appendix. It is a finger-shaped organ that stems from your colon.   With two primary functions — supporting the immune system and potentially serving as a safe house for good bacteria, as theorized from some– the appendix is a small, but mighty organ that… Dana-Farber Cancer Institute January 13, 2026 Original source
From Algorithms to Meaningful Biomarkers: Anchoring AI in Clinical Oncology Conventional biomarkers in oncology have been developed to guide diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy selection. Today, the number of AI-derived biomarkers is still modest and largely confined to pathology and radiology, where they assist in diagnostic pathology and image analyses. Yet, a major expansion in AI-derived biomarkers is to be expected1,2. Annals of Oncology January 13, 2026 Original source
Comment to: ALBAN (GETUG-AFU 37): A phase 3, randomized, open-label, international trial of intravenous atezolizumab and intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) versus BCG alone in BCG-naive high-risk, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized urothelial carcinoma (UC) treatment, and are recently shifting upstream in the treatment landscape to localized stages. However, ICIs have to overcome the long-standing dominance of intravesical BCG. While BCG remains the standard of care for high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (HR-NMIBC), it fails in 30–40% of patients according to historical series (1). Combining systemic ICIs… Annals of Oncology January 13, 2026 Original source
Artificial intelligence agents in cancer research and oncology <p>Nature Reviews Cancer, Published online: 12 January 2026; <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41568-025-00900-0">doi:10.1038/s41568-025-00900-0</a></p>Artificial intelligence agents are autonomous systems that use large language models to reason and as such can perform complex, multistep tasks with minimal human oversight. This Review by Truhn et al. discusses how these agents — which have already been implemented in several industries — could transform cancer research and oncology,… Nature Reviews Cancer January 12, 2026 Original source
Targeted Therapy Opens Possibility for Teen with Brain Tumor <p>Like many teenagers with cancer, Declan Cassidy, 16, has endured having his life interrupted by surgery, chemotherapy infusions, and other treatments. In his case, however, the greatest ongoing challenge goes beyond the cancer itself. Declan is legally blind, the result of an optic pathway glioma — a slow-growing brain tumor that forms in and around the optic nerves connecting the… Dana-Farber Cancer Institute January 12, 2026 Original source
When the time is right <p>Nature Reviews Cancer, Published online: 09 January 2026; <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41568-025-00904-w">doi:10.1038/s41568-025-00904-w</a></p>In a study published in Nature, Lourenço et al. demonstrate that strong oncogenic driver mutations undergo negative selection unless they occur in a permissive tissue context. Nature Reviews Cancer January 9, 2026 Original source